It's Now Or Never But We're Meant To Be
by finkpishnets
Summary: Oneshot. It starts with a coffee between classes, her gossiping away cheerily about celebrities and reality TV shows and him pretending to listen whilst actually working through their latest dance routine in his head. Jez, Lola.


**It's now or never but we're meant to be.**

[britannia high. jez, lola. pg-13. post 1.04_ 'Fame'_]

It starts with a coffee between classes, her gossiping away cheerily about celebrities and reality TV shows and him pretending to listen whilst actually working through their latest dance routine in his head. Jez has just about perfected the ability to shut out her voice although, more often than not, the things Lola comes out with are so entertaining that it's worth putting up with who's dating who and wearing what to get there, and before long he's found that he's actually listening to why Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie are the perfect couple.

"What?" she asks after she's finally run out of steam and he continues to stare.

"We should do this more often," he says and her smile could light up the West End.

And just like that, they're friends.

*

When everything comes out and the others all realise that, _oh look, Jez is a millionaire_, Lola is the only one that doesn't freak out on him. He isn't sure whether that's just because, well, she's a little bit _slow_, or because she genuinely doesn't understand why it makes a difference. Whatever the reason, it's nice to know that someone's not a) giving him the silent treatment, or b) staring at him intently as if any minute he may just start wearing a monocle.

After his dad leaves and Jez _stays_, everyone else remains on tenterhooks, unsure of what to say or do. Jez is thankful for the time alone for the most part except when he's _not _because, really, his life's just fallen apart and he could use the distraction. He's almost finished packing up his CD collection when there's a knock at the front door and for a brief, _teensy_ moment he wonders whether it's his dad having changed his mind.

When he finds Lola on his doorstep he's not disappointed.

"I come bearing pizza and _Moulin Rouge_," she says, letting herself in with a smile, "because there's nothing better than Satine and Christian to put life in perspective. Plus, Ewan McGregor's totally hot and I thought that might cheer you up."

Jez laughs and it's a little too close to a sob for his liking.

"Perfect," he says, taking the DVD from her and moving over to the black leather sofa that won't be his as of tomorrow. He tries not to think about it.

Lola settles down next to him, curling into his side and twisting an ankle around his own as the film starts. He puts and arm around her shoulder and holds her close, and when the tears start rolling down his cheeks she pulls him tighter and lets him pretend it's because of the movie.

*

They kiss once.

It's raining and they're soaked through, laughing as they run back to the house, clothes sticking to their bodies.

Lola makes a comment about how, if this were a movie, the hero would sweep the heroine off her feet and they'd dance in the rain before sharing a passionate kiss. Jez grins and grabs her hand, swirling her around and she giggles but plays along. They dance in the middle of the road and then Jez dips her low enough that the ends of her hair are brushing the ground, and kisses her. Lola laughs against his lips, and when they pull apart he just smiles at her, taking her hand and pulling her along.

Lola stops him before they enter the house, wrapping her arms around his shoulders and hugging him close.

"Thank you," she says. "That was, like, the most romantic thing anyone's _ever_ done for me."

"You're welcome," he laughs, and that's that.

*

Lola's not coming to class because apparently the call of fifteen minute fame is more important than being able to name the top most influential choreographers of all time. Lauren and Claudine appear to have _bonded_ in their disapproval and jealousy and that's weirder than anything else that's going on, and BB and Danny seem only interested in the way that it's all happening around them.

Four days of missed rehearsals later, Jez decides it's about time he and Lola had a chat. He's practised a speech involving words like _commitment_ and _future_ and he's pretty sure that if he works in a few analogies about all the top Hollywood celebs who attended Performing Arts school he can knock some sort of sense into her, but when he walks into her room he finds her curled in the foetal position on her bed looking decidedly worse for wear.

"Go away," she says and her voice shakes enough for him to know that she's been crying.

"No," he replies, moving to sit on the edge of the bed.

She's silent for a few minutes and Jez takes her lead, looking instead at the wall opposite, covered inch to inch in magazine cut-outs and celebrity posters.

"I had to dress up like a tomato," she says eventually, and Jez snorts. "It's not funny!"

"Yeah babes, it kind of is," he tells her, moving a hand to rest on her arm and feeling satisfied when she doesn't pull away.

"The others think I'm doing all these really glamorous things and meeting celebs _all the time,_ and I'm not but I can't tell them that," she whispers and his heart breaks a little at the pain in her voice.

"It doesn't matter what they think," he says, but she doesn't answer. Five minutes later he's just about resigned himself to leaving, but as he goes to stand Lola grabs his wrist.

"Stay?" she asks.

He offers her a small smile and lays down next to her, closing his eyes as she rests her head on his chest and pulls the duvet up over them both.

"Night Jez," she murmurs, curling her fingers around the neckline of his t-shirt as she drifts off.

When Jez wakes the next morning Lola's already gone, off to a photo shoot or an audition or whatever it is she's doing these days, and he's left with twenty minutes until he's supposed to be in rehearsals with Stefan. It doesn't matter though; he has the feeling that it won't be long before things return to normal.

*

He and Lola make plans to go spend their Friday night on a faux date; dinner and the cinema to see the latest romantic comedy ("It's date criteria," Lola tells him, "the girl get's to pick the film and it's _always_ a romcom.") except he and BB are running late planning the next 'BB and Jez show', and so Lola agrees to meet him at the studio instead.

Jez and BB are laughing over the latest poll answers when she arrives, dressed to kill in a shiny silver dress that's clearly all about _her_ and nothing to do with any guy, Jez or otherwise. He sort of loves her all the more for that.

"Hey, you almost ready?" she asks, dropping down on to the piano stool and smiling up at the two of them. BB's apparently lost all ability of speech because he just continues to stare, looking back and forth between the two of them.

"Yeah, ten minutes or so and then I'm all yours," he says and she grins, turning her attention to the keyboard where she begins to play a few chords.

"You're going out?" BB asks him under his breath, brow furrowed and voice strange.

"Yeah, but not like _that_," Jez replies, raising an eyebrow.

"I know _that_," BB says and Jez rolls his eyes. The other boy turns his attention back to the playlist on the computer screen in front of him, and Jez is suddenly struck with the realisation that BB is jealous, and not of _him_, but of _Lola_. It sends a happy tingle down his spine and he nudges his friend's shoulder with his own, grinning.

"Do you want to hang out tomorrow?" he asks. "We can try and get cheap theatre tickets."

BB smiles, looking at him sideways and bumps him back. "You just want to see _Wicked_ for the zillionth time."

"Well _duh_," Jez laughs and everything's right again.

"You should go," BB says, nodding at Lola. "Don't want to keep a date that hot waiting."

"Hands off," Jez laughs, "that's my girl you're talking about."

"Loser," BB mutters affectionately and Jez turns to leave.

"Shall we?" he asks her and she takes his hand, waving cheerily at BB as they go.

"You guys are, like, such _awesome_ best friends," Lola says, linking her arm through his as they head to the bus stop. "I don't mind sharing you with him."

Jez laughs and offers her his jacket and wonders at how lucky he is; BB is his Best Friend, but he's starting to think that Lola may actually be his soul mate.


End file.
